Chapter One #2
“I am sorry for you,” Thor said sincerely. “Even if you were not close to the man, a death in the family is regrettable.”
Jareth barely nodded as he continued reading. When he was finished, he read the missive again. And again. Finally, he looked up from the vellum, appearing the least bit stunned. Even Thor could see it.
“What is it?” he asked. “What’s happened?”
Jareth looked back at the vellum. “He has left me his entire estate.”
Thor’s eyebrows lifted. “Truly?” he said. “And you were not even close to the man?”
“I did not think so.”
“Evidently, your uncle thought differently.”
Jareth shook his head. “You do not understand,” he said. Then he read the vellum one more time before letting out a guffaw of disbelief. “My God… everything.”
“What is everything? What do you mean?”
Jareth had to collect himself before he answered.
“My uncle was my mother’s brother,” he said.
“My mother came from a noble family in Bristol, and when my grandfather died, my uncle took over the family business. Shipping, mostly, but there is also a very large merchant stall in the city where things from all over the known world were sold.”
Thor failed to see why that had Jareth so rattled. “Congratulations are in order,” he said. “It sounds as if you are to be a very wealthy man.”
Jareth shook his head. “You do not understand,” he said.
“This is not just wealth. My uncle has turned the family business into an empire. He built a church in the town center as well as a universitas. Can you imagine that? An institute of higher education. It is called the Temple Generale and it teaches priests and knights in the Biblical arts, architecture, and mathematics. He owns most of Bristol as it is—property and homes. The people who live in those properties work for him or work his land and pay him a percentage. He has more money than most of the warlords in England—combined. Rich does not completely cover how much he has.”
Thor grinned. “Well done, old man,” he said, clapping Jareth on the arm. “But why are you not more pleased about this?”
Jareth had to pause and think on that question. “Because… hell, because the subject of the man’s heir has never come up,” he said. “Not from my mother, not even from my father. My father could not stand the man, in fact.”
“Why?”
“Because Uncle Chester de Long was twice as smart as my father and twice as ambitious,” he said. “Chester could run circles around my father and my father hated him for it. Chester also hates my brother, Jasper, and the feeling is mutual.”
“But he does not hate you?” Thor said. “Why?”
Jareth shrugged. “Because I am my mother’s son,” he said quietly, thinking on the woman he loved dearly.
“My mother was a sweet woman, Thor. We share the same dark hair and eyes. My father once said that I have her smile. Uncle Chester adored my mother. Her marriage to my father was arranged and Chester never forgave my grandfather for it. He did not think my father was good enough for her.”
Thor understood. “Ah,” he said. “The protective older brother.”
“Indeed,” Jareth said. “Ironic he did not think my father was good enough, because we descend from King Mark of Cornwall. Our bloodlines are royal. But Chester never liked my father. Truthfully, he probably would not have liked any man who married my mother. When my mother died when I was ten years of age, I do not think Uncle Chester ever spoke to my father again. I seemed to be the only one he maintained a relationship with. Still, this missive comes as a… surprise.”
A lift of the eyebrows emphasized his last word, and Thor could see that it was a complex family matter. Anything involving relatives usually was.
“What will you do?” he asked quietly.
Jareth lifted his shoulders. “What can I do?” he said. “I cannot ignore this. My uncle had no children, so I suppose I should, at the very least, go to Bristol and settle his affairs.”
Thor nodded. “But what about the empire?” he said. “What will you do with it?”
Jareth shook his head. “For all I know, it may not even exist any longer,” he said. “Mayhap Uncle Chester let it all fall to pieces.”
“Would he?”
“I have no way of knowing until I go to Bristol.”
“Then you must tell Henry.”
Jareth cast him a long look. “He’s already lost Kent,” he said. “Torran is only here half of the time. I do not think Henry will be too thrilled if I leave for months on end, but it cannot be helped.”
Thor gestured to the vellum. “If I were you, I would tell him now,” he said. “You already know you must go. You may as well ask permission.”
Jareth knew that, but the missive in his hand caught his attention again and he lifted it, looking at the words again and suspecting his life was going to change from this point forward.
It wasn’t that the prospect of wealth didn’t interest him, because it did.
But he wanted it on his own terms, not his uncle’s.
Chester had sent him a summons from his deathbed, informing him of the path his future was about to take, and Jareth wasn’t entirely certain he wanted to go down that road.
He wasn’t entirely sure about anything at the moment.
“I will,” he said. “But this is something I must ponder. This was not something I had anticipated today. This will take some thought.”
Thor understood. Over in the group of training knights, someone had started an actual fight and neither Thor nor Jareth was surprised to see that it was Orion. He had irritated Stefan, who swung his big sword at him, much to Orion’s delight. The training was turning into something else.
“This will not end well for Orion,” Jareth said, his focus shifting away from his uncle as he watched Stefan stalk Orion. “Stefan may not be able to hear, but he can still fight better than almost anyone in England. If I were Orion, I would be—”
He didn’t even get the words out of his mouth before Stefan launched a lightning-fast attack, thrusting with his sword so that all Orion could do was defend himself.
Orion was dodging a move that came up from underneath him, turning his sword to counter it, but he failed to see how close Stefan came to him until Stefan’s left fist made contact with Orion’s jaw.
Down he went.
Much to Orion’s chagrin, the laughter from his colleagues could be heard all throughout the yard. Directed at him, no less. Nay, it was not his finest moment.
Training was over for the day.